Improving dairy quality to build a global Chinese brand

There are two photographs you won't fail to notice at the office of Pan Gang, CEO of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, China's biggest dairy producer.

One shows him communicating with farmers and herdsmen at a pasture about cow breeding. The other one shows him interacting with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, and Ellen Kullman, former CEO of DuPont Co, in 2015.

The common theme they signify is that for Pan, quality means a lot, be it educating farmers on how to care for cattle in a way that they produce top-quality milk, or associating with leaders of companies known for making quality products.